Optimism brings retailing success. But it's a particular kind of optimism. It's not a belief that everything will turn out fine, no matter what. Instead it's a conviction that you are capable of using the strengths of your business to achieve high profitability. How do you identify those strengths? You learn from the past. How do you mobilize those strengths? You focus on the future. Here's a reminder about this from Making Money Is Not Illegal, Immoral or Fattening:
"Professional retailers look to the future. Learn from the past. I don't want you to make the same mistakes twice. I want you to get better every day. But let's not spend energy dwelling on the past. Let's move on. It's done. Get over it. Where do we have to go? That's what matters. Focus on where we are going, not on where we have been. Where we've been was yesterday. Today I want to know what you've done for me today. Where are we going today?
"I've worked with retailers where all they want to do is dwell on the past, and it's totally nonproductive. You have a limited amount of time, you have a limited amount of resources—let's put money attached to that—and you have a limited amount of energy. I'm big on using that energy correctly. I'm big on it because if you work with those retailers I call energy vampires, they'll suck every bit of energy out of your body in about thirty seconds. Instead of moving forward, after those experiences, we move backward.
"Why do people spend time living in the past? The past is known. They are more comfortable talking about what they know. Professionals move beyond this. Professionals are comfortable talking about the future."
For more, see page 33 of the book.
No comments:
Post a Comment